The 140-seat terrace restaurant, which opened very quietly Aug. 16, marks the return of Phillips to Annapolis — in the same Dock Street location it left in 2009. It was replaced there by Hell Point Seafood, which shut its doors in late February.

Phillips Crab Deck, which is open daily for lunch and dinner beginning at 11:30 a.m., occupies only one of three buildings — 14 Dock St. — that used to house Phillips Annapolis Harbor Restaurant and then Hell Point Seafood. The neighboring buildings have been separated from the establishment and will soon welcome an English-style pub.

The new Phillips also marks a return to a more traditional Eastern Shore crab house menu and aesthetic for the Baltimore-based seafood company, whose restaurant origins date back to 1956, when Shirley and the late Brice Phillips opened their first "crab shack" in Ocean City.

The primary offerings at the new Phillips are steamed blue crabs, crab cakes, raw bar and steamer pots.

The restaurant is at 14 Dock St. in Annapolis. For information, call 410-280-2722 or go to phillipsseafood.com.

And they're offGrand Prix of Baltimore organizers are hoping that an early closing time and redesigned traffic patterns will help both race attendees and Baltimore residents connect with their favorite restaurants over Labor Day weekend.

Little Italy is definitely hoping for a bigger turnout than last year, when expected crowds failed to show up for dining al fresco. The restaurants of Little Italy have been laying the groundwork for this year's race since the day last year's race ended, and High Street will again be closed to vehicles.

Germano's is one of the restaurants going the extra mile. Team Pelfrey drivers will appear at a special Friday night gathering, and the team's crew and drivers will be convening at Germano's all weekend, according to owner Cyd Wolf.

"What the Grand Prix drivers love about this race is the city and the enthusiasm," Wolf said. "And children especially love the idea of being able to talk to the drivers."

You can find more information about Baltimore Race Week dining offers, along with special happy hours and discounted offers at area attractions, at baltimore.org.

A new seasonPabu has recently introduced "Satori," a tasting menu designed specifically to give diners an introduction to the restaurant's izakaya-style dining.

"With such an extensive menu, we really wanted to offer first-time visitors an easy way to taste signature items from every section so they can explore and discover what they like best," said Pabu executive chef Jonah Kim. "The idea is to highlight some of our favorites ... so when diners return, they have a base from which to be even more adventurous. The feedback has been great to date," Kim said.

The Satori menu is $44.88 per person, and an additional $22.88 per person for wine pairings. It begins with what has become a Pabu signature item, the "Happy Spoon," a slurp of oyster, uni, ikura and ponzu creme fraiche. Then come "Nagoya-style" wings and pork spare ribs, a selection of skewers grilled over Japanese binchotan charcoal, the chef's take on chicken soup featuring ramen noodles in chicken broth, and a selection of nigiri with a special hand roll.

The menu concludes with an omakase dessert tasting created by the Four Seasons' Chris Ford.

Pabu is at 200 International Drive, adjacent to the Four Seasons Hotel Baltimore. For information, call 410-223-1460 or got to michaelmina.net

No regrets Ted Stelzenmuller has parted ways with Of Love & Regret (1028 S. Conkling St., 410-327-0760, ofloveandregret.com), the Canton restaurant he opened this spring with Stillwater Ales founder Brian Strumke. The chef is now back at Jack's Bistro full time.

Both Stelzenmuller and Strumke have acknowledged "creative differences" about the direction of the menu at Of Love & Regret.

For the short term, chef de cuisine Keith Curley, formerly of Red Maple and Aida Bistro, will be running Of Love & Regret's kitchen, according to Strumke. He will be joined by Joshua Evans, who has worked in Chicago and Philadelphia at places like Le Bec-Fin and James on 8th.

In an emailed statement, Strumke said, "OLAR is intended to be a personally curated gallery for my work and the works of other artists I admire; so in true Stillwater fashion, I pulled together resources and decided to execute what I envision to be an almost collaborative kitchen."

Strumke co-owns Of Love and Regret with his sister, Brenda Strumke, and Leigh Travers.